As press secretary to Mikhail Gorbachev, Andrei Grachev witnessed and recorded many events unobserved by the general public. In this engaging and compelling book, he recounts these episodes in vivid detail, interpreting them in the context of the time. Highlighted are top-level meetings with Western leaders; State Council debates on a new treaty of union (promising, until Gorbachev and Yeltsin sparred over Russia''s policy toward the Chechen republic)

and Gorbachev''s private talks with leading members of government, business, and religious and cultural circles from around the world.